County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control - Downey Animal Care Center — Local services in Downey

I had a good experience here. I came in to adopt either one of two specific cats in late december as soon as they became available (on the same day). I made the 2nd earliest appointment but when I came in, someone already adopted one of them. The person told me she came 15 mins before the place opened so I wonder if the establishment is respecting priority for those who made appointments. I got to adopt one of the cats I had my eyes on, but when I signed the papers, there were already 2 people behind me who wanted to adopt the same cat so even if you come here with an appointment, there is a chance that someone who walked in is gonna get ahead of you. If you come for a cat, know that there are 2 separate buildings that house them. One is across from the office and has the friendlier/tamer ones. The other one is a two-mins walk away and houses feral cats. I highly recommend you come here too. The cats that are put here are ones that have been deemed unsafe for the volunteers and workers to handle. However, shelters are very traumatizing places for animals to be in so you can have friendly cats here who are showing aggression only temporarily until they become accustomed. I have been here twice and I've seen total transformations on my second visit. Some of the cats here have been very friendly and I was able to pet a few. Once a cat in this building calms down a bit and is deemed safe, they move them to the other building to be with other friendly cats, so you might see some here who are nice and ready to be moved. So definitely drop by.

These are the steps for adoption:

1. make an appointment
2. if you already know which cat you want, go straight to the office without seeing the cat and ask if it's available. If it is, you are going to need the pet's ID number which you can find on their website or attached in front of the cat's kennel at the location. 2.5) If you dont know which cat you want, go have a look at both buildings and if you see someone you like, have their pet ID ready and head over to the office. Ask if they are available for adoption.
3. Then you sign paperwork right there and then and the animal will be yours. However, before they hand them over to you, they will go through a final health checkup with the inhouse vet.
4. You can take the cat home!

Make sure you get a license with your cat if your city requires it. It will be done at some government building in your city. (ask the shelter about it if you are unsure where exactly to go for this) Sometimes a license is not needed depending on where you live, though. Also, VERY IMPORTANT: if your animal came in already chipped from a previous owner, YOU NEED TO CONTACT THE MICROCHIP COMPANY TO TRANSFER OWNERSHIP TO YOU. Please dont be one of those people who get into messy situations if the previous owners decide to claim your animal back and you havent changed microchip ownership. The shelter should give you info on that so make sure you know how to do it before you leave!...

I came in last Friday to adopt a dog I had found in my yard the Saturday before; a beautiful black and white miniature poodle about a year old. He had shown up about a month ago in my yard and the owner was right behind him and we helped her get him. When he came back the second time on Saturday I waited for her until evening but she didn’t come. I also posted him on shadow, next door, and facebook but got no response. I fell in love with 😍 this sweet little guy. I couldn’t keep him overnight because my dogs and cats were freaking out, so I took him to a vet to see if he was microchipped. He wasn’t, so I took him to the Downey Shelter hoping his owner would find him, but I had planned on keeping him, working it out with my fur babies, in case she didn’t. I ended up hearing from the owner and due to serious family issues she couldn’t keep him and wanted me to have him, so after multiple calls to the shelter tracking him I showed up Friday to adopt him. I got there before they opened but I encountered so much drama- there were 4 others ahead of me in line, including a woman who wanted him. She was serious- had come a long way to adopt him. It looked like I would lose him!! I started 😭 crying and couldn’t stop. The woman finally said I could have him after I explained everything. I thought it was easy now. Wrong! The front desk officers, a man and a woman, could not have been kinder or more patient with me. When told there was still a hold for the owner and there would b no adoption I could not control my tears again. I explained I had text messages from the owner stating she couldn’t keep Him and wanted the dog with me, but it didn’t seem to matter. It didn’t look good. The front desk man helping me went took an interest in my plight and got his supervisor- supervisor Jauregui -and assured me she would help. And she certainly did!! She first told me that the hold was real, and many people wanted this dog, and after the hold I would have to come back and take my chances. I once again offered my text messages hoping they would convince her I should have the dog. She took the time to read them, and it all changed instantly! She cut through all the drama, told me what I needed to do, which I and the owner who I contacted did, and released the hold. He was mine!!! I know this shelter gets a bad rap. and certainly can do better in many areas. But, I also know that on this Friday, May 3, two front desk officers. a man and a woman, and Supervisor Jauregui went out of their way to help calm me down, listen to me, and cut the red tape so I could b reunited with my little guy. I will be forever grateful to these three people for their kindness....

If There was “- star “ selection I would pick that. The staff there do not communicate, everyone gives a different response. Last week a message was left to go pick up a dog, the officer spoke so fast I could not understand their name . The message was that the dog good for pick up, than when I called On 12/19/19 an officer said no that the dog was being assessed, AGAIN. I went to visit the dog three times and could not get any results, I hit a wall. I even offered to sign a waiver to have him released to me and pay the fees but they said no because I might sue them; really after I offered to sign a waiver. Than I called on 12/29/19 and they said the dog was in the clinic and I’d get a call. NO CALL. On 12/31/19 a call was received that the dog was good for pick up. Called on 01/02/20. The Officer said the dog is NOT ready he needed to be assessed. It’s a YO-YO with this agency and frustrating. Poor dog has been in JAIL since 12/14/19 and I went on 12/16/19 to pick the dog up because I know the dog. He belonged to my neighbors, and he is use to being around children from ages newborn to teens but that’s another story. The main response given by the officers is that the dog is labeled as aggressive when he is the most passive dog ever. WORSE unorganized agency ever. I feel for those poor pooches and the people wanting to adopt a dog from the L. A. County Animal Shelter. There is so much red tape . On 1/2/20 they said there were others in the list to adopt. I had become ill, lost my voice and could not make it to pick up the dog. I called on 01/07/20 for a progress on him and they told me he developed a respiratory infection and they put him to sleep 😢 on 1/3/20. I was beyond understanding this travesty because they had left a message on 12/31/19 that he was good for pick up but we’re closing in 45 minutes, I was not near Downey and they would be closed on 1/1/20. What are they doing in that place, how could they allow this dog to remain there when I and others wanted him that in the end they killed him. They are not there to help animals. It is so sad and the worst experience I had dealing with the LA animal shelter. They...